Labour’s secret plans for £4,000 ‘garden tax’: Land and levy plot could treble the average council bill.
Conservatives claimed that Labour plans to replace council tax with a Land Value Tax (LVT), as shown through a small print of Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto. The manifesto contained proposals to impose a tax on homes and gardens that will cost an average of nearly £4,000.
Tories warned that, when implemented, what the Foreign Secretary labelled as the garden tax would cause house prices to plummet and bring negative equity to mortgage holders’ doors.
The move, however, is said “to ensure local government has sustainable funding for the long term”.
Unfortunately, the LVT can have a devastating effect on homeowners.
Under the new tax, up to 3% levy will be imposed on the value of land. For an average home in England, this could result in a yearly tax bill of £3,837 based on analysis estimates using a land value of about 55% of a house price. Compared to the current council tax bill, which is at an average of £1,185, the increase is a massive 224%. Areas with higher land prices would be most affected by the garden tax.
To lower their bills, families could be forced to sell their gardens or build over green spaces or their back gardens.
If the new tax affects agricultural lands, the National Farmers Union also warned of hikes in food prices.
Boris Johnson expressed his concern, saying that the garden tax will “wreck our economy, devastate farmers and increase the cost of food on the shelves”.
A Labour spokesman, however, dismissed the criticism as nothing more than “desperate nonsense”.
The jury’s still out on who to vote for in one of the most complex general elections of our time, but while current tax plans are still in place, check if you’re owed some tax back from HMRC here